Red Sox 9, White Sox 5: Lineup provides plenty for Porcello in win

Rick Porcello won his first game since June 23 and the Red Sox won their third in a row and fifth in seven games as Boston beat the White Sox, 9-5, on Thursday night.

By Bill Ballou / @Bill BallouTG

BOSTON — Rick Porcello won his first game since June 23 and the Red Sox won their third in a row and fifth in seven games as Boston beat the White Sox, 9-5, on Thursday night.

The Yankees lost, again, and the Red Sox have re-opened a two-game lead in the American League East. Boston hitters battered the White Sox — a Triple-A team these days, in reality — for 15 hits including seven for extra bases.

Rafael Devers and Mookie Betts hit home runs.

White Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez faced 13 Red Sox batters and got five of them out, including the first one.

That was Mookie Betts, who led off the bottom of the first with a grounder to shortstop. The next four Boston batters had hits, and when that streak was over the Red Sox had four runs.

Andrew Benintendi hit a ground rule double into the seats past the Red Sox bullpen, Eduardo Nunez singled him in and stole second, Hanley Ramirez doubled to center to make it 2-0, and then Devers homered over the Green Monster to give Boston a 4-0 lead.

Gonzalez got Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. to end the inning but fared poorly in the second as well.

That rally began with a single by Christian Vazquez, and then after Bradley flied to center Betts homered over the Monster Seats. Benintendi walked and stole second, then after Nunez was retired, Ramirez reached on an infield single to second base.

Benintendi never stopped running on the play and slid home with the seventh Red Sox run. Devers followed with a fly ball to left that Nicky Delmonico muffed. With two outs, Ramirez was running on contact and third base coach Brian Butterfield waved him to the plate, but he was out to end the inning.

Boston’s three-run outburst in the second increased its lead to 7-2 after Chicago had gotten to Porcello for a pair of runs in the top of the second. Ex-Red Sox rookie Yoan Moncada walked and Delmonico and Tyler Saladino followed with singles, all that activity producing one run. The second one came across on Tim Anderson’s ground ball to shortstop.

The Red Sox’ 7-2 lead looked comfortable enough at the time, but things changed quickly. Again, it was a two-out home run ball that produced the damage against Porcello. Leury Garcia was on second and Moncada on first (another walk) when Delmonico hit his first major league home run, the ball landing in the box seats next to the visitors’ bullpen in right.

Porcello regained his composure after Delmonico’s home run and was able to protect the lead, a luxury he has rarely had this season. He retired Saladino on a fly ball to center leading off the sixth then gave up a line drive double to Anderson.

That ended his night as the bullpen parade began. Fernando Abad, then Heath Hembree, got the last two outs of the inning.

By that point the lead was 8-5 thanks to a clutch single by Benintendi with two outs in the fifth. It drove in Mitch Moreland, who had doubled to center leading off.